Calls for Full Investigation: Number of Church Abuse Cases Continues to Rise in Germany

Calls for Full InvestigationNumber of Church Abuse Cases Continues to Rise in Germany

The Catholic Church in Germany is under pressure as more and more cases of sexual abuse come to light. Now the government is demanding that the Church take rigorous action to investigate the incidents. By SPIEGEL staff.

For years, Jörg D. was plagued by feelings of shame, insecurity and rage. Finally, on Sept. 17, 2009, he sent the pope a four-page letter describing his plight. "I beg you for help, in whatever form possible," he wrote.

But Benedict XVI remained silent. To this day, Jörg D., now 25, has not received a response, "not even a two-liner, nothing, nothing at all."

Franz-Josef Bode, the bishop of the city of Osnabrück in northwestern Germany, hasn't been much help either. He advised D., a victim of abuse, to "forgive and forget."

In fact, Bishop Bode wants all the 14 victims, who at the time were altar boys and children preparing to receive their first communion, to forgive and forget. Over the course of several years, ending in 1995, they were sexually abused a total of 227 times by their priest in a village near the Dutch border. The priest involved, Father Alois B., got off lightly, with only a probation sentence.

"The church was more concerned about the offenders than the victims," says Jörg D. "It provided them with therapy, stays in health resorts, new apartments or new positions, and it assiduously wiped away their old tracks. The abused children were left to fend for themselves."

German Church Apologizes

New allegations of abuse by members of the Catholic Church are emerging every day. Ursula Raue, a Berlin attorney who has been engaged by the Jesuits to handle abuse cases, has counted 12 suspects and 120 victims in the space of only three weeks. Raue says that the order knew of only two suspects and seven victims in late January. "The numbers are rising by the day," she says. Many other orders, Catholic institutions and parishes are affected, as new victims report cases of alleged abuse to dioceses, newspapers and counseling centers throughout the country.

Despite the apparent urgency of the situation, Germany's highest-ranking Catholic, Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, had been unavailable for comment for weeks during the scandal. At a meeting of the German Bishops' Conference this week in Freiburg, the issue of "sexual abuse" was initially intended as a secondary item on the agenda. "The aging society" was meant to be the main focus of the meeting.

However Zollitsch on Monday told the conference that he wanted to apologize in the name of the Church to the victims of abuse at Catholic schools. "Sexual abuse of children is always a horrible crime," he said, adding that he wanted to "apologize to all those who were victims of such crimes."

Biggest Scandal in Decades

In reacting to what is probably the
biggest scandal within their ranks in decades, German bishops have seemed helpless and dazed, sometimes concerned about the victims, but often stubborn, out of touch with reality or ignorant -- and generally confused. Some say they are "stunned and concerned," while others, like Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa, have summarily assigned some of the blame for the abuse to the "so-called sexual revolution."

All of the publicity has overshadowed the more urgent needs of conducting a thorough investigation into the incidents, prosecution of the offenders and help for the victims.

What is needed is an independent commission, with a staff to investigate all allegations and hold accountable the offenders and those who knew about them within the church hierarchy. Such a commission would also have to ensure that the long-neglected victims finally receive counseling, therapy and compensation.

This is the way the abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church in Ireland and the United States were dealt with. Commissions in those two countries investigated thousands of alleged offenders. Ireland's commission was headed by an experienced judge, who was given the authority to inspect secret Church records and question the parties involved. Are Germany's bishops afraid of so much transparency and the results it could yield?

Hiding Behind Pretexts

Even the German government is unequivocally calling upon Church leaders to take action -- an extremely unusual approach in the context of the relationship between Church and state.

"I expect the Catholic Church to provide concrete information on which measures are being taken for a complete investigation," says German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. "It is not very helpful when a few people in positions of authority, like Bishop Mixa, hide behind polemical pretexts instead of helping to resolve the matter."

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), proposes the appointment of ombudsmen and a round table of representatives of the government, the Church and victims. Such a panel, she says, would be "a good way to clear up the many abuse cases and give the Catholic Church an opportunity to enter into dialogue with the victims over voluntary compensation."

The prevalent view within the clergy, however, is still that sexual assaults are isolated cases, the regrettable transgressions of brothers gone astray. German bishops are determined to avoid the fate of their Irish counterparts, who were summoned to Rome last week for a public dressing-down over their handling of child abuse scandals.

At the same time, the many new suspected cases indicate that abuse of children and adolescents was apparently widespread throughout the Catholic world. One of the German Catholic institutions where child abuse allegedly took place is the Franz Sales House, a facility for handicapped people in the western city of Essen, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary as a "venerable institution with a great history." It represents "a culture of attentiveness," Essen Auxiliary Bishop Franz Vorrath said.

Isn't it surprising, that the German POLIZEI can do "razzia" for prostitution nets, but not peep into the very houses of shame - the Churchs, to unearth the ugly racket, that is unwillingly taking its toll on the [...]

Isn't it surprising, that the German POLIZEI can do "razzia" for prostitution nets, but not peep into the very houses of shame - the Churchs, to unearth the ugly racket, that is unwillingly taking its toll on the society? The Head Bishops apology in the Bonn conference is like a token acknowledgement of something unbecoming of an institution, which is supposed to be primarily moralistic.
And I wonder, why the society is so calm about this - perhaps, it's in the German blood - if it doesn't concern me, I don't need to react.
Hats off to the German Government for taking such a light stand - yeah, lets investigate!! Well, take the bull by the horns. If the Citizens have paid Church Tax, the least they need to know is that their money was not used tos ponsor abusive Pastors. What difference is left between a whore house and the Church then? Except, in this case, the local society at large is responsible for this corruption.

tubingen 02/28/2010

2. Crisis of Episcopal Cover-Up Not Abuse

The author remarks that independent commissions were set up to investigate the pedophiles in Ireland and the US. In fact, the bishops themselves have never been investigated by legal authorities or made to stand trial in ecclesial [...]

The author remarks that independent commissions were set up to investigate the pedophiles in Ireland and the US. In fact, the bishops themselves have never been investigated by legal authorities or made to stand trial in ecclesial courts. In the US alone, 111 bishops colluded to keep known rapists (1,800 + priests) in ministry rather than protect raped children.
In fact, 23 US bishops are known pedophiles themselves (See bishopaccountability.org for list).
These are high crimes and have been virtually uninvestigated because of supposed statute of limitations laws or the presumption of lack of malice.
The episcopal cover-up is transnational, methodical and sytematic. It is the world court which must assume the effort to form a tribunal to deal justice to these men who knowingly and willingly put childen in harm's way - some estimated 150,000 to 400,000 plus in the US alone.
Pedophile rings function under the cover of kindness and friendship, hiding behind false authority and structures of power with unlimited access to legal counsel. It is time to remove the veil and investigate without rancor or vitriole but with due diligence and the absence of favoritism.

fear_less 03/24/2010

3. Repost from 3/18/10

First up, complacency can be found in all societies and is not exclusive to Germans.
Germans are not as apathetic as you think, especially where it concerns church matters. Just take a look at the hot discussions at Spiegel [...]

Zitat von vluthra1Isn't it surprising, that the German POLIZEI can do "razzia" for prostitution nets, but not peep into the very houses of shame - the Churchs, to unearth the ugly racket, that is unwillingly taking its toll on the society? The Head Bishops apology in the Bonn conference is like a token acknowledgement of something unbecoming of an institution, which is supposed to be primarily moralistic.
And I wonder, why the society is so calm about this - perhaps, it's in the German blood - if it doesn't concern me, I don't need to react.
Hats off to the German Government for taking such a light stand - yeah, lets investigate!! Well, take the bull by the horns. If the Citizens have paid Church Tax, the least they need to know is that their money was not used tos ponsor abusive Pastors. What difference is left between a whore house and the Church then? Except, in this case, the local society at large is responsible for this corruption.

First up, complacency can be found in all societies and is not exclusive to Germans.
Germans are not as apathetic as you think, especially where it concerns church matters. Just take a look at the hot discussions at Spiegel German Forum. And, they are showing their protest by lining up in droves at City Hall to formally leave their church. Increasingly so in the Catholic stronghold of Bavaria.
FWIW... Last time church exits were at their all-time high was when the Pope reinstated the Holocaust-denier Bishop Williamson.
And, btw...
Did you know that the Dalai Lama is and always has been more popular in Germany than the German Pope? In fact, when the Pope visited the United States, he claimed it felt good to be with such religious people. Which was clearly meant as a stab against his secular home country of Germany, where far too many people either don't give a damn or just plain dislike him. Or both. And that was _before _this latest sex-abuse scandal!
Let's not forget that the German Government is headed by a party that has the big C for Christian in its name. So, don't expect too much from that end. They are about as hypocritical as the Catholic church, whose "values" they share and with whom they like to appear so closely associated.
As for the church tax, see above...

mae 03/29/2010

4. s

I suspect most German jews might disagree with that. After all there were other European countries like Denmark under Nazi occupation which managed to save most of their jews. Given this fact would you agree that Germans are [...]

Zitat von fear_lessFirst up, complacency can be found in all societies and is not exclusive to Germans.
Germans are not as apathetic as you think, especially where it concerns church matters. Just take a look at the hot discussions at Spiegel German Forum. And, they are showing their protest by lining up in droves at City Hall to formally leave their church. Increasingly so in the Catholic stronghold of Bavaria.
FWIW... Last time church exits were at their all-time high was when the Pope reinstated the Holocaust-denier Bishop Williamson.
And, btw...
Did you know that the Dalai Lama is and always has been more popular in Germany than the German Pope? In fact, when the Pope visited the United States, he claimed it felt good to be with such religious people. Which was clearly meant as a stab against his secular home country of Germany, where far too many people either don't give a damn or just plain dislike him. Or both. And that was _before _this latest sex-abuse scandal!
Let's not forget that the German Government is headed by a party that has the big C for Christian in its name. So, don't expect too much from that end. They are about as hypocritical as the Catholic church, whose "values" they share and with whom they like to appear so closely associated.
As for the church tax, see above...

I suspect most German jews might disagree with that. After all there were other European countries like Denmark under Nazi occupation which managed to save most of their jews. Given this fact would you agree that Germans are more complacent than Danes?
You have a church tax and still think you live in a "secular" country where there is separation of church and state? Amazing!

BTraven 04/08/2010

5.

It has something to do with legislation  there is no obligation to inform the police when you learn of that a priest has abused a child. The church tried to tackle it internally however did it very clumsily and [...]

Zitat von vluthra1Isn't it surprising, that the German POLIZEI can do "razzia" for prostitution nets, but not peep into the very houses of shame - the Churchs, to unearth the ugly racket, that is unwillingly taking its toll on the society? The Head Bishops apology in the Bonn conference is like a token acknowledgement of something unbecoming of an institution, which is supposed to be primarily moralistic.
And I wonder, why the society is so calm about this - perhaps, it's in the German blood - if it doesn't concern me, I don't need to react.
Hats off to the German Government for taking such a light stand - yeah, lets investigate!! Well, take the bull by the horns. If the Citizens have paid Church Tax, the least they need to know is that their money was not used tos ponsor abusive Pastors. What difference is left between a whore house and the Church then? Except, in this case, the local society at large is responsible for this corruption.

It has something to do with legislation  there is no obligation to inform the police when you learn of that a priest has abused a child. The church tried to tackle it internally however did it very clumsily and superficially. Instead of keeping paedophilic priests away from children they were allowed to have contact with them again. I think every organisation will try to keep bad things in its own ranks. It is quite natural. Perhaps the new culture of telling the public as much as possible about you has contributed to cause such a big protest against the church.